| OMGoblins |
... That's the brutal RAW.
Actually, real combat plays out this way too - with the exception of a very small percentage of highly trained people, fighting while prone against enemies who can easily reach you with weapons while they remain standing, really is suicide - every combat training manual ever written says so, if it says anything on the subject at all. And not just the manuals, but real life experience matches what the manuals teach us. For example, a boxer is instantly disqualified if he even tries to throw a punch at an opponent when he's down, and even MMA rules don't allow one guy to stand and punch a downed opponent - he either has to let the opponent up or get down there with him, at least to his knees, to keep from doing permanent and/or lethal damage with padded fists.
In Pathfinder, just like in the real world, if you want to live, stay on your feet.
I think you summed it up very nicely and I agree with your conclusions on the matter. However, I would point out that your MMA example is actually a bit wrong.
It's not actually illegal to stand and punch a downed opponent, it happens all the time. If an opponent is on the ground it's usually in one of 2 positions, either they are on their back in which case they raise their legs up in a defensive posture from which they can block strikes and deliver "up kicks" and try to keep the opponent who is standing in front of their legs. Or they are on the ground facedown (either flat or on their knees) likely covering up their head with their arms.
If it is the former case, it's just not effective to strike while standing against a downed opponent, the range is too great and it's very possible to get knocked out yourself from an up-kick as you are leaning into the punch. Sometimes fighters will be able to throw punches, often following through with their body to try and establish a dominant position on the ground from which they can strike within their natural reach and without the risk of taking dangerous up-kicks. Otherwise they will mostly try and kick the legs of the downed opponent to create an opening, but most of the time it's ineffective and the downed opponent gets up without too much resistance (if you knocked them down you were likely winning the stand up game).
If it is the latter case, they are pretty much in a real bad spot, likely dazed and/or almost knocked out. I have seen fighters finish them in a number of ways including from a standing position. The big reason you don't see a lot of standing vs prone action is because of reach. You are free to punch the opponent, but you can't kick them. Well most people cant reach the floor from a standing position with their punches so they drop down to a lower level so they can put more power and speed into their punches. If the opponent is face down, crouching over his knees and covering his head then I have seen guys climb on their back and start punching the side of the guys head (since back of the head punches are illegal). That's really rare though, usually when you knock someone down they will still be facing you and when they cover up the closest body part to you will be their head. The quickest (which is important- to take advantage of their weakened state) way to get to them is to bend down over them (which happens most often IMO) so your punches are within reach, second most likely is actually "sprawling" where you get down to your knee's or lean on your opponent to keep him down with your legs spread out behind you to create a wide base for power and then start to punch them in the side of the head.
You are right about it's a bad place to be in, but the MMA isn't really a good comparison for Pathfinder mechanics given that there are no weapons (and therefore limited reach) in MMA making standing to prone combat mostly ineffective except in situations where your opponent is not only prone, but dazed.